Worrying youth usage trends revealed

THE European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addiction report also highlights concern about drinking and drug use by young people.

European Voice

10/22/03, 5:00 PM CET

Updated 4/12/14, 9:17 AM CET

Drug deaths among under-20s in the EU totalled 3,103 in 1990-2000, more than doubling from 161 in 1990 to 349 at the end of the decade.

Ecstasy use among the young has risen in Denmark, Portugal and Finland (as well as Norway), while almost all member states report fears of increased use of cocaine.

The report says there is also widespread concern about alcohol, which it warns is increasingly being abused with drugs.

Surveys of 15 to 16-year-olds show that between 36% (Portugal) and 89% (Denmark) have been drunk at least once.

Teenage boys tend to use drugs and alcohol more than girls, but the gap is narrowing.

One problem often overlooked but with a big impact on public health is young people’s use of solvents or inhalants, the report adds.

After alcohol and cannabis, these are the substances more commonly used by 15 to 16-year-olds in the EU with the highest use in Ireland (22%), UK (15%), Greece (14%) and France (11%). It is lowest in Portugal (3%).

There is also evidence of “considerable” problems with solvent abuse in accession states.

“Some 1,700 deaths related to such substances were recorded among young people in the UK alone between 1983 and 2000. This suggests that, despite the high profile given to deaths associated with ecstasy and other controlled drugs, solvent use might be a greater acute health risk for young people,” the report concludes.

Agency chief Georges Estievenart says the findings highlight the need for the EU to work harder to meet the target of its drugs action plan.